1st time in Holland, Via Newcastle - Amsterdam Ferry

[TheTravelMan]

We are thinking of Holland as our 1st overseas trip with our caravan, however would prefer to travel via Newcastle - Amsterdam ferry as we are based near Newcastle and once over dont want to travel too far, we like very good standard sites eg: like the Caravan club, peaceful and not overrun with drunks etc, we do have 2 children age 5 & 6. Many Thanks Andrew.

 

[mikeE]

We prefer Newcastle/Ijmuiden for the same reasons being based on Teesside. Caravans go free on certain days but you have to ask and Caravan Club members can get a discount.

Have stayed at Duinrell which has an amusement park next door ( free admission ) and, more recently, at www.terspegelt.nl near Eindhoven which is an excellent site, lakes, playgrounds and well run. Not sure what the local tourist scene is like there though - I only went there taking my family of rabid Middlesboro' supporters for the U.E.F.A. cup final ! Which they prefer to forget ! !

Do visit the Efteling theme park if you are taking youngsters - or even if not.

Mike E

 

[mikeE]

We prefer Newcastle/Ijmuiden for the same reasons being based on Teesside. Caravans go free on certain days but you have to ask and Caravan Club members can get a discount.

Have stayed at Duinrell which has an amusement park next door ( free admission ) and, more recently, at www.terspegelt.nl near Eindhoven which is an excellent site, lakes, playgrounds and well run. Not sure what the local tourist scene is like there though - I only went there taking my family of rabid Middlesboro' supporters for the U.E.F.A. cup final ! Which they prefer to forget ! !

Do visit the Efteling theme park if you are taking youngsters - or even if not.

Mike E

Have just re-read your message - of course you will be taking youngsters.

 

[rob_jax]

Hi Andrew,

I work in Rotterdam, commuting almost every other week from the UK (but via Dover Calais) - so:

Driving in Holland is quite restful - outside of rush hour which starts around 7:30 local time.

On this (and other) forum people praise the French motorway network, well Holland is at least as good if not better than France - certainly better signage and no tolls.

On that subject, you will find these words helpful when reading the overhead signs:

Gesolten - Closed / Blocked

File vrij - no hold ups

File X km - traffic queue of X km (plus it will show the town name where the hold up occurs or the road number)

The overhead signs also show the recommended speed for "good" progress in busy traffic - sensors and computer systems alongside the road automatically calculate the best speed for traffic to get through a jam without stopping.

Holland is not a big country, but do you want a single campsite for the whole vacation or multiple sites? Theme parks or beaches?

In no particular order, I would be tempted to stay at:

Rotterdam area

Delftsehout (www.delftsehout.nl) - family camp site located in a vast recreation park with childrens zoo - and easy walking distance of Delft city centre.

Amsterdam area

Camping Het Hof (www.campinghethof.nl) - near the town of Hoorn on the shore of the IJsellmeer (inland see to the North of Amsterdam) - this is a popular family camp site

Zeeland region (between Rotterdam and the Belgian border - about 1 hour in a car)

The Zeeland area has a whole load of great campsites - check out the reviews on the ACSI camping guides web-pages - good clean beaches with tall sand dunes.

Camping Zonneweelde (www.campingzonneweelde.nl) - family camp site with a great aqua-playground. Near the town of Nieuwevliet close to the Belgian border.

Camping Guides:

The Alan Rogers guides are worth reading, or read the ACSI reviews on the web (www.eurocampings.net) and ACSI DVD based guides (www.asci-gids.nl)

Theme Parks - Efteling (Dutch folk lore, fairies, etc) near the city of 's-Hertogenbosch is subtly different from the American theme parks - good fun

Theme Parks - Duinrell - also good

Robert

 

[Debbi_5109580]

Have stayed at the Durinell site and it was great my then 11 year old son loved it and wants to go back only this time with the caravan. Let me know how you get on as I also live extremely close to the North Shields ferry, have never taken the caravan abroad before and am terrified as I have driving abroad. When do you plan on going over?

 

[Debbi_5109580]

Have stayed at the Durinell site and it was great my then 11 year old son loved it and wants to go back only this time with the caravan. Let me know how you get on as I also live extremely close to the North Shields ferry, have never taken the caravan abroad before and am terrified as I have driving abroad. When do you plan on going over?